A sixth woman has come forward to accuse former President of the United States George H.W. Bush of groping her, telling TIME that the incident occurred when she was sixteen years old.
Roslyn Corrigan, now 30, says that Bush groped her buttocks while she stood next to him for a photo, which echoes similar allegations against the former president which have been made by five other women over the past few weeks.
fantastic reporting from @aricwithan_a, who poured his heart into this (disturbing and heartbreaking) story for weeks.
Woman Says George H.W. Bush Groped Her When She Was 16: ‘I Was a Child’ https://t.co/4BMfijjaq8 pic.twitter.com/yJmh5AkQrD
— maria yagoda (@mariayagoda) November 13, 2017
In the other cases, statements from Bush have blamed the fact that he is in a wheelchair and that his arm naturally falls at buttock-level. It’s harder to argue that in Corrigan’s case, which took place in 2003 while Bush was 79 years old and still mobile.
Corrigan claims that while she stood next to Bush for the photo, he “dropped his hands from her waist down to my buttocks and gave it a nice, ripe squeeze”. The below photo, provided to TIME by Corrigan’s family, was taken during the alleged encounter.
Corrigan says she was shocked:
My initial reaction was absolute horror. I was really, really confused. The first thing I did was look at my mom and, while he was still standing there, I didn’t say anything. What does a teenager say to the ex-president of the United States? Like, ‘Hey dude, you shouldn’t have touched me like that?’
Though Corrigan says her claims have been dismissed in the past, she was inspired to come forward by the other women who have alleged misconduct by Bush.
Bush spokesperson Jim McGrath issued a statement in response to Corrigan’s allegations which reads very similarly to the other apologies over the past few weeks:
George Bush simply does not have it in his heart to knowingly cause anyone harm or distress, and he again apologises to anyone he may have offended during a photo op.
